Social Annotation with Hypothes.is

The social annotation tool Hypothes.is enables faculty and students to engage in a collaborative and shared reading experience. Hypothes.is brings discussion of course readings directly into the margins of the text.

Why Use Hypothes.is?

Instructors and students can openly annotate readings and reply to each other’s comments, which jumpstarts discussion about the reading ahead of class time
Hypothes.is creates an additional space for all students to share their ideas with their peers
Instructors can see which parts of the reading generate student interest, as well as identify areas of confusion, which can help in planning class discussion

Instructional Uses

Questions and answers in annotation: Identify areas of confusion in the text that may be shared among multiple students by having them ask questions and provide answers in their annotations

Connect - summarize - question - reply: Use this annotation framework to help students deepen their understanding of a reading ahead of class

Annotating a scientific paper: Shared annotations, such as definitions of terminology or commentary on research design, can help the entire class digest the genre of scientific writing and understand the scientific method.

Review additional annotation activities and assignments. This collection includes both discipline-specific assignments and assignments that work well across disciplines.

Annotation Starter Assignments for the start of the semester, or for starting to use Hypothes.is in the middle or the end of the semester.